{Simple Sundays} Name Calling

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue..." // Proverbs 18:21a

As a girl who loves great stories, it's no shock that I love to read. The Hunger Games is up there on my list of favorites, and I think the movies are pretty great too. This weekend, I went to see the final movie in the series, and in the midst of all the intense battle scenes, there was one aspect of the story that stood out to me the most.

(If you haven't read the books or seen the movies yet, sorry for any spoilers.)

One of the main characters, Peeta, is captured by the evil leaders of The Capital and tortured into believing his best friend, Katniss (also the girl he loves), is the enemy. He is told over and over again that she must be killed, that all the turmoil and chaos their nation is experiencing is her fault, that she is to blame for all the death and destruction. He is broken down physically and mentally until he can no longer separate lies from the truth. He is eventually rescued from his torturers, but his mind is not free. He still believes the lies and even tries to kill Katniss.

Peeta is eventually set free mentally only after Katniss and others who love him begin to remind him of who he truly is. They remind him that he is kind and generous. That they are not the enemy. They use their words to paint a picture of his true heart. They restore his mind by filling it with truth.

It is such a beautiful depiction of name calling in the best way.

We become what we believe, and we believe what we are told.

Tell a child he is stupid, unworthy, and pathetic; and he will lead a sad, insecure life. Tell a child he is smart, kind, and important (thank you, The Help), and he will live a joyful, confident life. Same goes for siblings, employees, church members, spouses - you have the power to either break down or build up every person with whom you come in contact.

The truth is, we are all loved and adored by the Creator of the Universe. We were all made with specific and unique gifts and talents. We all matter.

Can you imagine if we all lived that way? If we all truly believed those statements about ourselves. If we all believed those statements about each other. How much more would we value human life? What if we treated every person we met - including our hard-to-love neighbors or family members or the homeless drunk on the highway or the rude cashier - as if we truly believed God loved them just as much as He loved King David or Abraham, or just as much as He loves our pastor or the missionaries serving overseas? The truth is, He does.

It may be difficult for you to see others as worthy of love because you don't see yourself that way. Maybe you were told over and over by parents or teachers or your own self that you weren't good enough. And unfortunately, it may take a long time for your mind to be set free. But consider this post to be the Katniss to your Peeta.

You are so loved. You are worthy. You matter. You have a purpose. You were created to be in communion with your Creator. You were created to be a son or daughter of the Heavenly Father, to be a co-heir with Christ to an infinite inheritance of unending joy, hope, peace, and love. And you were made to share that message with others.

Let's savor the Scriptures and digest the Truth. Let's allow the knowledge of the Holy One and His unfailing, unchanging, unfathomable love for us to transform our lives so that we can help in transforming the lives around us.

Let's live and act and think and speak like people who know that our words have power. And let's use them to encourage and bless and praise and empower.

//

"But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh." {James 3:8-12}